Emergency Operations Center

Purpose

When an emergency occurs, each county agency carries out its responsibilities independently of other agencies. The activities of county agencies must be closely coordinated if the County is to respond effectively. The purpose of the County Emergency Operations Center (EOC) is to facilitate that coordination. The County EOC also coordinates closely with neighboring EOCs, as well as the State EOC when they are activated.

Emergency Operations Center Status

The EOC status is currently at Level 5.

Contact

24-Hour Duty Officer
Phone: 715-346-1400

Activation Levels

Level 1 (Full EOC Activation)

Level 1 is a full activation of the County EOC with multiple disciplines having representatives in the EOC. Other agencies and volunteer organizations will be requested to send representatives to the EOC depending on the nature of the event and the need for additional support to field responders.

Level 2 (Partial EOC Activation)

Level 2 is a partial activation of the County EOC with selected disciplines and voluntary organizations having representatives in the EOC.

Level 3 (Minimal EOC Activation)

Level 3 events will have minimal activation of the EOC. This activation is intended to actively monitor Severe Weather or other hazardous conditions in the County. Minimal staff will report to the EOC to be able to more effectively monitor conditions in the state. At this level of event local units of government are not asking for assistance or resources. Upon notification that a community has been damaged by severe weather the EOC will go to a Level 1 or 2 activation.

Level 4 (Virtual EOC Operations)

Level 4 is when the EOC operates in a virtual environment when monitoring small-scale incidents involving limited geographical areas and/or resource requests. The County Duty Officer creates an online site for the incident, and staff are notified. Staff participate from remote locations and continue to monitor and contribute to the site. Staff maintains communication with affected jurisdictions and coordinates resource requests.

Level 5 (Duty Officer System)

The Duty Officer is on call 24 hours a day to receive calls from field responders and local jurisdictions relating to emergency situations. A member of the Emergency Management Division is on call to provide direction to the staff when necessary. When emergency management personnel are unavailable, a senior member of the Sheriff's Office management staff assumes the role of Duty Officer. The Duty Officer continuously monitors events around the state through frequent contact with the National Weather Service, County Highway/WisDOT, and Wisconsin Emergency Management.

Consideration for Determining Event Levels

The following factors are considered in determining the level of the event and subsequent EOC activation:

  • Tornado watches and warnings
  • Winter storm or blizzard warning
  • Predicted rapid and heavy rate of snowfall
  • The imminent threat of flash flooding
  • Large evacuation
  • Shelters opening in response to large evacuations
  • Events that cause significant disruption to community activities and affect public safety
  • Closure of major portions of Interstate 39 or Highway 10
  • Potential or actual impacts on critical facilities
  • Resource request or need for involvement of multiple county agencies
  • Other severe weather factors:
  • The number of municipalities affected
  • Population in the affected municipalities
  • Capabilities of individual municipalities to respond/recover
  • Transportation and infrastructure affected
  • The ability of staff to respond to the County EOC
  • Potential for extensive power outages
  • Timing of the weather event (e.g. holiday travel, ongoing special events,)